I was reading a transcript of an interview by WPR with Tim Slekar, Dean of the School of Education at Edgewood College who believes that there is a mass teacher exodus, not a shortage.  He blames testing accountability for this exodus, but it was something he said during the interview that personally hit home.

“I now have teachers say to me, “I’m being asked to do things, and in fact I’ve done things that are not best for kids. I’m leaving, I’m demoralized”.

You know, I hadn’t really thought about it before, but this really hit the nail on the head for me.  You know, I LOVE teaching and I wouldn’t still be doing this if I didn’t believe with everything in my being that what I teach and how I teach it didn’t make a difference in a child’s life.  However, as time goes on, I find myself questioning how education is moving and if what the research is saying is really the research we should be looking at AND if that research is what is best for kids.

The thought of doing something that might actually harm a child’s development of any kind – social, emotional, academic, physically, artistically – concerns me greatly.  My personal experience with education for the most part was exceptionally positive.  I loved and still love learning.  My teachers challenged me, showed me how to find the answers for myself (pre-google of course) and gave me educational independence. I want my students to love learning.  My job is to teach them to love learning so that one day I can let them jump from the nest so that they too can fly freely through the educational environment.  However, the way education is structured today, whether it’s public, charter or anything else is, I believe, is not conducive to children learning to love learning or discovering things on their own.  Structured assessments on a limited number of subjects have reduced teaching to jamming information into kids heads enough for them to spit it out so they can jam more into their heads.  Research tells us that kids retain more when they do more and do it themselves.  The latest research is also telling us that kids retain more when they write information on paper instead of on a device, but that’s another subject for another day.

All this to say is that it breaks my heart when I see little ones walk into school dreading what the day will bring.  There should be excitement at seeing friends and looking forward to what they get to learn today.  It IS possible to have an environment like this.  I’m living proof of it.  It’s a matter of whether or not we choose to do this for our kids.

I should say at this point that I don’t believe those making these decisions are purposefully trying to hurt kids.  They are only looking for answers to help lessen the achievement gap and other admirable goals.  However, as a teacher, one who has made a career of observing children’s learning styles and behaviors, I feel pretty confident I can figure things out when it comes to how to teach a student effectively.  I have achieved the degrees necessary to get the teaching certificate, renewing it periodically within the state guidelines, I am trusted to teach student teachers how to teach children in a classroom and YET there are those who have never stepped into a classroom (or very briefly) who are telling not only me but ALL teachers how to teach.  Yes, it is demoralizing, especially when some of those directives go against what we know is good for kids.  Ethically, it is difficult for teachers to reconcile going against everything they believe is good for kids.

The biggest issue with education today is not money, it’s not resources, it’s not all about the kids, it’s about teachers at risk.  Teachers who are suffering from anxiety and depression.  Teachers who are spending more time on administrative duties than they are teaching.  Teachers who are not trusted to do the job they were trained to do.   Our younger generation of teachers unfortunately don’t know anything different, that at one point in time, teachers were respected for their professionalism, their knowledge and that they were trusted to do the best thing for kids.  I am in agreement with Mr. Slekar and believe if we don’t do something for our teachers at risk, this exodus will continue, affecting our students and ultimately, our future.